Travis Lutter Discusses UFC 67, Failed Attempt to Cut Weight

If you want a lesson in how fighters cut weight, check out the latest interview with Travis Lutter (9-4 MMA, 2-3 UFC) conducted by Mike Chiappetta of NBCSports.com.

Lutter, who earned a title shot by winning the middleweight division of The Ultimate Fighter’s fourth season, was essentially given an opportunity of a lifetime. But he failed to make weight for his title match with Anderson Silva at last week’s UFC 67 event, and because he weighed in at 187 pounds (two pounds over the allowable limit), the bout was changed to a non-title fight and he was docked 10 percent of his salary.

Lutter went on to lose the fight with a second-round submission via triangle choke.

The turn of events angered many UFC fans, who claimed Lutter disrespected the sport and himself. Even Silva said he felt disrespected.

But according to his recent interview, no one sounds worse about the outcome than Lutter himself.

Q: In the days leading up to the fight, did you at any point think you were in trouble as far as making weight?

A: I really didn’t think I was too heavy until about four hours beforehand. I knew at that time I was in a lot of trouble. I told the guys, this is not good. And the weird thing was, I was ahead of schedule on paper. We keep track of weight cuts from fight to fight. And as compared to my fight against Patrick Cote (in November 2006), we were 1.5 hours ahead as far as time.

But that’s when I got into trouble, as I began to quit sweating. The weight just quit coming off. We knew we were in trouble at that point. Once you stop sweating and your body says it won’t give up anymore, it’s very hard to lose weight. It’s painful and sucks but you keep trying.

I’d suggest clicking through to the interview to learn more about the process of cutting weight in the final hours. It was obvious early on that Lutter knew he was in trouble and wasn’t going to make the cut.

After reading his comments, I’m surprised that we don’t see more fighters failing in their attempts. Then again, not everyone walks around 26 pounds over their fighting weights.

Most fans assumed Lutter’s failures would mean the end of his career in the UFC. That may or may not be the case, though.

A: As far as my career, someone asked Dana White if I’d be punished, and he said losing the fight was punishment enough. I take that to mean I’m still fighting in the UFC. I hope I am. If they say I’m not, I’ll fight somewhere else and make my way back. I’d rather fight here; I want to fight here, but I’m sure I’ll never make some fans back. But for every fan I lost, I have 20 or 30 e-mailing me, saying I did great.

ALBANY, N.Y. – MMAjunkie is on scene and reporting live from today’s UFC Fight Night 102 event at Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y., which kicks off at 5:45 p.m. ET (2:45 p.m. PT). You can discuss the event here.

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